Members may have heard about Healthscope closing two hospitals in Victoria and winding back operations at a third hospital.
It comes about as a result of corporate decisions to save money not because there has been a sudden drop in people seeking medical attention. It comes at a time when there is a growing need for greater levels of access to the healthcare facilities especially in rapidly growing parts of the state.
These closures highlight the very real problem with allowing private providers to deliver essential emergency services like hospitals. Patients and workers are being unnecessarily impacted due to corporate decisions that have nothing to do with delivering better healthcare but are all about delivering higher profits. It isn’t good enough to have a private provider make significant decisions about the level of access to healthcare people have with no thought given to those impacts. These decisions might make the bottom line for Healthscope healthier but it is unnecessarily adding stress to people who are seeking medical care for a healthier life.
And all of this is happening while there appears to be aggressive bidding by a couple of consortiums seeking to takeover Healthscope.
The Union will keep a watching brief on the developments of these hospital closures and any flow on impacts it will have for members.
If you’re being impacted by Healthscope’s decision to close two hospitals and wind back operations in Frankston please contact the Union at enquiry[at]msav.org.au or call on 9623 9623
